Large-scale mining modifies the existing physical environment and has multiple long-term impacts on landscape but also on communities, and their cultural values. In Finland, social impact assessment has become a customary practice in assessing and estimating mining impacts that cause changes to the well-being of individual people and their livelihoods. However, the assessment is often lacking notions of social dimensions of the environment, neglecting discussing aspects such as localities and subjective well-being. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering the cultural benefits of the environment to human well-being in environmental decision-making. The purpose of this study is to explore and illustrate how cultural ecosystem services could contribute to the current practice in social impact assessments in Finnish mining projects by highlighting the relation between local people and environment through the valuation of cultural services. The study used a conceptual framework approach of cultural ecosystem services and conducted eight qualitative semi-structured interviews in two villages in Finnish Fell Lapland. The aim was to explore how the local people themselves describe their non-material benefits from the environment. Six out of the eight interviews were conducted walking with the participants. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed for analysis against the conceptual cultural ecosystem services framework. The results show how the well-being of local people was strongly linked to cultural benefits such as sense of place, enabled by meaningful activities in places that were often happening in mundane everyday places. The study implies the importance of considering cultural ecosystem services such as sense of place in the current social impact assessment practice as they help unveiling connections between people, the natural environment and subjective well-being.

Ecosystem services (ES) are highly important for the municipalities to work with since their function as decision-making authority decides about the exploitation of the commune. The degrading of biodiversity is at its highest speed and the ecosystems and the services they provide is at stake. The EU and the Swedish government have therefore decided on goals for ES which affect the municipalities. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Swedish municipalities are working with ES, focusing on the environmental planning, and whether there is a difference between larger and smaller municipalities. A survey was sent to all municipalities in Sweden and 135 of them participated. Comparison was done between three groups depending on population size. The results show that despite all the goals, guidelines and methods that exist, something is missing. Only half of them uses the guidelines and methods, and more than half of them says that knowledge partially is missing among them. There is a difference in this integration and knowledge when comparing large municipalities to smaller ones, which can be explained by lack of expertise, budget and time, but also lack of exploration in smaller municipalities. To achieve the goals and improve the work with ES, simple, user- friendly guidelines and methods is requested but also a widespread knowledge in the whole management. One big reason why not all municipalities are working with this is lack of legislation.

Ekosystemtjänster är ett relativt nytt begrepp inom fysisk planering och kan beskrivas som de olika gratistjänster människan får från jordens olika ekosystem. Utan dessa gratistjänster skulle jorden inte vara en beboelig plats för människan. Därför är tjänsterna vi får från naturen livsavgörande för vår och andra arters existens. Men trots att ekosystemtjänster är av oerhört värde för mänskligheten och dess socioekonomiska samhälle saknas det idag kunskap om detta område - inte minst inom fysisk planering. Dessa tjänster saknar, vad man kallar, ett marknadsvärde vilket har lett till att det är svårt att uppskatta det ”riktiga värdet” av de tjänster vi får från naturen. Hur sätter man ett värde på exempelvis fördelarna med pollinering, stadsodlingar, de psykiska och fysiska fördelarna med urbana grönytor samt den naturliga vatten- och luftrening som ständigt sker? Det är ingen lätt fråga att besvara. Okunskap om ekosystemens olika tjänster kan få förödande konsekvenser i en allt mer globaliserad värld med ekonomier som ständigt växer. Där majoriteten av världens befolkning bor i städer som växer både på bredden och på höjden samtidigt som jorden står inför globala klimatförändringar med varmare klimat, kraftigare nederbörd et cetera. Ekosystemtjänster har visat sig användbara i många av dessa fall, om de används på rätt sätt. Ekosystemtjänster renar exempelvis vår luft i täta städer, de reglerar temperaturer i städer, de kyler byggnader under heta sommardagar, de har ett rekreativt värde för människor och har även visat sig effektiva för att motverka stress och andra psykiska sjukdomar. Fördelarna är många och kunskap om hur de kan användas på bästa sätt kan ge stora samhällsvinster. Fysisk planering är ett av de främsta medlen för att kunna hantera och nyttja ekosystemtjänsterna på lämpligast sätt. Men trots detta saknas det idag kunskap bland planerare inom detta område. Med min uppsats hoppas jag därför kunna bidra till att väcka fler planerares, arkitekters, politikers och andra aktörers intresse för att förstå värdet av att använda ekosystemtjänster inom stadsplanering. / Ecosystem services are a quite new notion within urban planning and it can be described as those services the human get for free from the Earth´s different ecosystems. Without these free services the Earth would have been uninhabitable. Thereof the services we get from the nature are vital for our own and for other species existence. However, despite the great value and impact ecosystem services have to humanity and our socioeconomic society there is lack of knowledge within this field  and urban planning is not an exception. Ecosystem services do not have any market value and this has lead to difficulties to understand the ”real value” of the services we get from the nature. For instance, how do we value pollination, the benefits of urban farming, the physical and mental benefits of urban green areas or the value of natural purification of water and air et cetera? It is not an easy question to answer. Lack of people´s knowledge regarding the benefits of ecosystem services can have devastating consequences. Especially in a globalised world where the majority of the people in the world live in cities and at the same time when the Earth is facing global warming. However, ecosystem services have proved to be very efficient if they are used the right way. For example, ecosystem services purify the air from impurities and regulate the temperature in our cities, cooling down buildings during hot summer days, they also have a recreational value and have proved to cure stress and other diseases. The benefits are many and if we possess the knowledge of these services and are able to control them in the very best way it can give back social benefits. Urban planning is one of the main means to manage and use the ecosystem services in the best way. Despite this, many urban planners don´t have enough with knowledge within this field. My wish with this dissertation is to contribute and share my knowledge to other planners, architects, politicians and other operators who work with urban planning in a daily basis. I want to grow a seed of interest and write about the importance of why we shoud be using ecosystem services within urban planning.

When exploiting an area, important ecosystem services can be lost, and an ecosystem service analysis gives a clear picture of how a plurality of values are affected. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the detailed development plans for two properties in Laholm municipality will affect the ecosystem services, and what compensation measures that may be implemented. A qualitative method was used where literature search, interviews, question answers, observation and ESTER 2.0 were included. The results suggest that that the supporting ecosystem services on both properties and the cultural ecosystem services on one of the properties will be negatively affected by the exploitation. However, the cultural ecosystem services on one of the properties will be positively affected. Laholm municipality does not actively work with the mitigation hierarchy and compensation measures. Possible compensation measures to create could be ponds and meadow patches, planting of flowering trees and placement of benches and picnic tables. A collaboration with Båstad municipality would further be beneficial for protecting the landscape and promoting biological diversity across municipal borders. / Vid exploatering av ett område kan viktiga ekosystemtjänster gå förlorade och med hjälp av en ekosystemtjänstanalys får man en tydlig bild över de många olika värden som påverkas. Syftet med studien är att ta reda på hur detaljplanerna för två fastigheter i Laholms kommun kommer påverka ekosystemtjänsterna, samt undersöka möjliga kompensationsåtgärder. I studien användes en kvalitativ metod där litteratursökning, intervjuer, frågesvar, observation och ESTER 2.0 inkluderades. Resultatet visar att de stödjande ekosystemtjänsterna på båda fastigheterna och de kulturella ekosystemtjänsterna på en av fastigheterna kommer påverkas negativt av exploateringen. Däremot kommer de kulturella ekosystemtjänsterna på en av fastigheterna påverkas positivt. Skadelindringshierarkin och kompensationsåtgärder är inget Laholms kommun arbetar aktivt med. Möjliga kompensationsåtgärder att skapa skulle kunna vara dammar och ängsplättar, plantering av blommande träd samt utplacering av bänkar och picknickbord. En samverkan med Båstad kommun hade vidare varit fördelaktigt för att skydda landskapsbilden och främja en biologisk mångfald över kommungränserna.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: I investigated the impacts of the invasive wattle species (Acacia mearnsii, A. dealbata, A. decurrens), on the ecological function and productivity of rangelands in South Africa and their ability to sustain livestock production. More specifically, this study set out to: (1) assess grazing areas at a national scale; (2) identify evidence of progressive impacts of these species on livestock production across a selection of magisterial districts; (3) determine the effects of A. mearnsii density on growth form dominance of indigenous plant species, and highlight how this translates into impacts in forage quality and quantity; (4) determine the effects of A. mearnsii invasion on soil resources and conditions (key determinates of ecological function) required to support grazing production; and finally (5) determine to effects that clearing operations have had on the provision of grazing resources. My results indicate that the level of overlap between wattle invasion and areas with a high grazing potential, at the national scale, is relatively low (2.9%). However, at a magisterial district scale, areas with a high grazing potential have a moderate (approximately 35.1% high grazing potential area under wattle invasion for highest invaded district) level of invasion. Scattered and moderate levels of invasion currently dominate or characterise these species invasion patterns. Both light and dense A. mearnsii invasions reduce grazing capacity. Dense invasion had the most severe effect reducing grazing capacity from 2 ha, required to support one large stock unit, to 8 ha. The clearing of this species was found to improve grazing capacity within 5 years. The reduction in grazing capacity following invasion was largely due to reduced basal cover and herbaceous biomass. The clearing of invaded sites was found to increase both basal cover and herbaceous biomass to pre-invasion levels. Acacia mearnsii invasion was found to affect certain soil properties. Under an A. mearnsii canopy, plant litter, carbon content of the soil and nitrogen concentrations were all found to be elevated. Overall, this study demonstrates that Acacia invasions have a significant effect on grazing resources at a local or site scale, and that for the eastern region of South Africa, these effects are ultimately scaled up to a district level. This is likely to have important financial and human well-being repercussions. However clearing and restoration programs are clearly able to reverse or mitigate these effects. This study therefore lends support to or complements other ecosystem service provision arguments for clearing alien invasive species. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die impak van die indringer- wattelbome spesies ( A. mearnsii , A. dealbata , A. decurrens) , op die ekologiese funksie en produktiwiteit van weivelde in Suid-Afrika en hul vermoë om vee produksie te onderhou was ondersoek. Meer spesifiek, is hierdie studie uiteengesit om: (1) ondersoek in te stel na die mate van oorvleueling tussen indringing deur wattelbome spesies en belangrike weidingsgebiede op 'n nasionale skaal; (2) bewyse te verskaf van die progressiewe impak van hierdie spesies op vee-produksie oor 'n seleksie van politieke distrikte, (3) die gevolge van A. mearnsii digtheid op groei vorm en oorheersing van inheemse plante te wys, en hoe dit voer kwaliteit en kwantiteit affekteer; (4) die gevolge van A. mearnsii indringing op grond hulpbronne sowel as die kondisie (sleutel bepalende faktore van ekologiese funksie) wat benodig word om weiding produksie te ondersteun vas te stel, en uiteindelik (5) om die gevolge van skoonmaak bedrywighede op die voorsiening van weiding hulpbronne te bepaaal. My resultate dui daarop dat die vlak van oorvleueling tussen die wattelbome indringing en gebiede met 'n hoë weiding potensiaal, by die nasionale skaal, relatief laag is (2’9 %). Maar op 'n landdrosdistrik skaal, het gebiede met 'n hoë weiding potensiaal 'n matige (ongeveer 35.1 % weiding potensiaal area onder wattelbome indringing vir die hoogste binnegevalde distrik ) vlak van indringing. Verspreide en matige vlakke van indringing oorheers tans of kenmerk hierdie spesies se indringings patrone. Beide lig en digte A. mearnsii besettings verminder dravermoë. Digte inval het die mees ernstige uitwerking en verminder dravermoë van 2 ha, wat nodig is om een grootvee-eenheid te ondersteun na 8 ha. Bevindinge wys dat die verwydering van hierdie spesies weiding kapasiteit kan verbeter binne 'n tydperk van 5 jaar. Die afname in dravermoë na indringing is grootliks te wyte aan die afname in basale bedekking en kruidagtige biomassa. Na die skoonmaak van indringer persele is bevind dat beide basale bedekking en biomassa weer verhoog tot voor- indringings vlakke. Acacia mearnsii indringing beïnvloed sekere grondeienskappe. Onder A. mearnsii blaredak, is alle blaarafval, koolstof-inhoud van die grond en stikstof konsentrasies verhef. In die algeheel, toon hierdie studie dat die Acacia indringings 'n beduidende uitwerking op weidings hulpbronne by 'n plaaslike of perseel skaal het, en vir die oostelike streek van Suid-Afrika, is hierdie effekte ook uiteindelik vertaalbaar tot 'n distrik vlak. Dit sal waarskynlik belangrike finansiële en menslike welsyn gevolge hê, maar die skoonmaak en herstel programme is duidelik daartoe instaat om die gevolge te keer of te verminder. Hierdie studie leen dus ondersteuning aan of komplimenteer ander ekostelsel dienslewering argumente (soos dié van die Werk vir Water program) vir die verwydering van indringerspesies.

This study investigates the potential impacts on soils from development practices associated with new single-family residential home construction in the extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Pflugerville, Texas. My research question is: Are regulations that directly focus on soil conservation advisable within Pflugerville’s ETJ, and what areas of development ought to be primarily targeted by these regulations in order to better ensure the long-term stability of soil health and the minimization of soil loss? The rationale for this question is based on the city’s projected future population growth, the projected future demand for single-family residences, as well as the development and management practices typically associated with new single-family residential development in the ETJ of Pflugerville. I hypothesize that due to Pflugerville’s proximity to Austin and Round Rock, in addition to the relative abundance of available land to the east of the city of Pflugerville, that it is likely to continue experiencing sustained population and residential development growth, particularly in the form of new single-family residences in the ETJ. A population projection was conducted up to the year 2030, which in conjunction with average persons-per-household and single-family home permitting data, estimates potential consumer demand for single-family residences. The imperative to prevent soil loss is conceptually linked to ecosystem service benefits resulting from healthy and intact soils, such as improved water quality and the regulation of peak flow rates during storm events. Single-family residential development is evaluated in terms of conventional on-the-ground construction practices gathered from interviews with developers of single-family homes in the Pflugerville ETJ, as well as planning and regulatory specialists. These analyses are intended to inform regulatory and decision making processes regarding the importance and potential integration of soil preservation and conservation at the individual construction site level. / text

Land areas being used unsustainably are depleted and/or degraded. To prevent this from happening and/or to reverse the effects, we need to restore these environments. However, not all restoration practices are equal, and some do not adhere to rigorous standards of sustainability. In this study, restoration guidelines and opinions from field experts were analysed from an SSD perspective. The focus of this thesis was limestone quarries in northern Europe due to quarries’ impacts to the socio-ecological system and the sensitivity of northern ecosystems. The results were divided into two sub-sections: FSSD comparison to guidelines, which included an SP analysis to principles in guidelines, and interviews. The conclusion was that the SSD approach could enhance these quarry restoration guidelines by incorporating the recommendations formulated from the results and discussion. One recommendation was having the eight SPs as overarching boundaries for success. Incorporating these recommendations would fill the sustainability gaps, aiding in the practitioner's ability to be strategic and have long-term success within sustainable limits.

Throughout human history man has utilized the environment to varying degrees, depending on technology and population. These ¨ecosystem services¨ have suffered sustained degradation over the centuries, resulting in large investments having to be made to prevent and reverse further changes to the environment. Few studies have attempted to quantitatively compare how these changes, occurring long before modern environmental monitoring programs started, affected important ecosystem services such as species diversity, water quality, carbon burial and soil stability. The aims of this study were to i) assess whether human impact on ecosystem services have varied over time in perspective of relative change, and ii) to assess the individual (per capita) contributions. I used multiple sediment proxies from a 6 m C¹⁴-dated core collected from lake Ekoln, South-Central Sweden, to reconstruct environmental changes while tracking the population growth in the city of Uppsala during the last ten centuries. Through the use of pollen and diatom assemblages I reconstructed the changing terrestrial and aquatic diversities over time, while sediment accumulation rates and the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of the sediment was used to reconstruct soil stability, carbon burial and water quality, respectively. In the latter case, sediment phosphorus concentrations were used as a proxy for freshwater eutrophication while metals (mercury and lead) were used to infer inputs of toxic pollutants. Finally, I normalized (z) all data to create meta-data. The z-values and reconstructed population for Uppsala made it possible to differentiate 5 unique time periods based on anthropogenic induced change, which were not previously visible in the data, and all of which have been linked to the most likely historical causes, including the Black Death. The results show that the most significant anthropogenic impacts in terms of pollution volume occurred in the 1960s, while the period from 1200-1500 AD saw the most significant environmental change in terms per head of capita, most likely caused by the shift from woodland to open landscape through twiddening, a process of burning forest to create agricultural land, prior to 1500 AD. Moreover, rapid recovery is visible after the implementation of environmental policies from the 1970s onwards. / <p>Full surname: Kilpatrick van Houte</p>

Magister Artium - MA / Wetlands provide various ecosystem services such as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services which may be directly or indirectly beneficial to humans. The manner in which such wetlands are managed is partly determined by human perceptions of their value. However, climatic variability and climate change put the continued provision of such ecosystems under stress. The result is that certain ecosystem services may be provided to differing extents during anomalously wet or dry years. There is thus uncertainty as to the values ascribed to wetlands by people during varying climatic phases. This thesis focuses on understanding how people perceive the functioning of wetlands within our current climate against a background of climatic variability and climate change. This study explores people’s perceptions regarding the functioning of wetlands and ecosystem services provided during dry and wet years, as an indication of how climatic variability and climate change impact peoples’ perceptions. The data was collected in the wetlands of the Agulhas Plain in the Nuwejaars Catchment. Five wetlands classified and scored using the WETEcoServices tool. In addition, five semi-structured interviews and three participatory mapping exercises with landowners were also undertaken. The study reports on the landowners’ awareness of wetland ecosystems, ecosystem services and climatic variability and climate change. Provisioning, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services are frequently used by landowners, which can be impacted by climatic variability and climate change. The WETEcoService benefits and landowners perceptions of ecosystem services varies, as the WETEcoService direct and indirect ecosystem services are either effective or ineffective in dry and wet years. In contrast to landowners perceptions emphasising the importance of ecosystem services directly beneficial to them. The study recommends that the ecosystem services landowners perceive as important is linked to their interest to guarantee their participation in catchment management. WET-EcoService benefits can inform landowners and managers about ecosystem services degradation and whether their conservation methods are either positively or negatively impacting wetlands.

Orientador: Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra / Banca: Valdemir Antonio Rodrigues / Banca: Vera Lúcia Abdala / Resumo: O sistema de produção vegetal compreende a informação sobre os sistemas representativos das explorações agrícolas. A observação do comportamento do uso e da ocupação do solo indica a dinamização agropecuária associada à "pressão" que os habitantes e a agricultura exercem sobre os recursos ambientais de uma unidade político administrativa, e é um importante fator para os tomadores de decisão. As mudanças antropogênicas do uso do solo causam um desequilíbrio ecológico no ambiente e são capazes de interferir no sistema de produção agrícola, pois os fatores necessários para a manutenção dos sistemas de produção podem ser consumidos limitando sua capacidade. Partindo do exposto, propõe-se o cálculo e a aplicação de um índice que permite comparar o comportamento do desenvolvimento de uma sociedade no que tange ao uso e ocupação do solo em uma unidade política administrativa. O Índice de uso do solo por habitante (IUSH) consiste da relação entre o uso e a ocupação do solo (área) de uma unidade política administrativa e o número de habitantes desta mesma unidade em um determinado momento. Ao observar os resultados obtidos na análise multivariada de componentes principais, nota-se que os recursos naturais demandados diretamente pela população da unidade político administrativa, como por exemplo, a água consumida, o esgoto coletado e o esgoto tratado, se agruparam separadamente dos relacionados ao comportamento de uso e ocupação do solo, como fragmentos florestais e áreas urba... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The observation of the behavior of the use and occupation of the soil associated to the "pressure" that the inhabitants exert on the environmental resources of an administrative political unit is an important point for the decision makers. Anthropogenic changes in land usage cause an ecological imbalance in the environment and are able to interfering with the agricultural production system. The factors necessary for the maintenance of production systems can be consumed by limiting their capacity. Based on this, it is proposed the calculation and the application of an index that allows comparing the behavior of the society development regarding the occupation of land use in a political administrative unit. The Land Use Human Index (LUHI) consists of the relationship between the use and occupation of the soil (area) of a unit administrative political and the number of inhabitants, of this same unit, at a given moment. When analyzing, over time, this index is able to indicate the increase or decrease of the demand on the available natural resources. These values can help to take decisions towards more sustainable management. When observing the results obtained in the multivariate analysis of the main components, it can be observed that the natural resources demanded directly by the population of the administrative political unit, such as the water consumed, collected sewage and treated sewage, they can grouped separately from those related to the behavior of use and occupation of the soil, such as forest fragments and urbanized areas with paved access. These data show that the LUHI measures the pressure exerted by a certain number of inhabitants on the natural resources of a political-administrative unit. Subsequently the LUHI can be used to compare political administrative units regarding the sustainable management of their areas. / Mestre